IS BRITAIN DEGENERATING?

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 102, 29 April 1908, Page 6

IS BRITAIN DEGENERATING?

;(A REPLY TO J." LLDDELL-KBLLY.)

lt_a__-have been rather.a, rud.e shock to moat New 'Zealanders who 'read Mr! Kelly's. a_ticle,-in Wednesdays issue, under the heading of "Candid Confessions." I am on a tour of this country from Scotland, and I will endeavour to make a short reply to the many misleading statein eats' therein.

During my travels in the colonies every young colonial with whom I have come in contact expresses an eager desire to visit "the Mather Country, and rightly so.' It is a pleasure to mc to see that such "a, _eel___ exists, and to hear him. call it "Home." 1 do not think, however, the average colonial -would anticipate hearin- the land of his birth called "The hub of the universe." Only those suffering from swelled head would be disappointed to find that New Zealand was only a small part of the British Empire. I candidly admit that one might find a certain amount of la.k of knowledge of the Dominion, but no doubt this deficiency will decrease as the colony increases. It may be a source of wonder to many how seldom one reads in the Home papers of the doings of this progressive country, but it must be borne in mind that we are separated by twelve thousand miles, and the population is very small — just a trifle larger than my native city, Glasgow.

This country is certainly making rapid strides, and I would not be surprised if the population trebled itself in the nest decade. " ...'.'

Notwithstanding the great increase which is taking place year after year in _very Zealand exports, the amount per lead of the Home population is an almost insignificant amount.

Mr. Kelly seems to have been of a controversial turn of mind during bis visit, and I wonder if the Britisher, went down on his knees to him when he threw that awful bomb-shell, "What would you do if we stopped feeding you?" Going to statistics the amount of Frozen nxsat. exported to the United Kingdom during 1906 was £2,877,-31, and the value of butter £1,560,235, which, spread, over the population,'in the former,-is only about 1/5 and butter, say, 9d per head in twelve months. I trust that these figures "will increase as years go on, as it is only light we should give' every encouragement to colonial produce.

It would only be a hair-brained politician -who would imagine that, at the present time, Kew Zealand could stand without the aid of the Mother Country in the event of an invasion.

I am one who believes' greatly in Imperialism, and it would be a sad day for all of us if the happy bonds of unionism existing with our colonies were broken. The Little" Enghmder party is- a thin° of the past". ' '

If any of Britain's dominions beyond the seas w_re" threatened to-morrow by a foreign power, such a wave of patriotism and rally to their aid on the part of the Old Country would" be experienced that would show to the world the impregnable strength of the British Empire. On the other hand, we know that in time of trouble we can depend on Colonial assistance. The greatest admiration was expressed at Home for the South African war contingents.- After ..aIL. we are of the same flesh and btoocT, and'part and parcel of this great Empire, each playing our little part in its welfare. Nearly every family at Home has at least jne; relative in the Colonies, and not'aing Better could.be wished for in-helpisg to -raw the-Empire.closer. .together. I left London .last December, and according to Mr, Kelly, there must have been an appalling change in that short time! Britain seems to have turned into a veritable Hell upon earth. -It is the _005t arrant nonsense to rush. into .print nntii the -astounding s_ateme__ that eighty per cent of the -British population are absolutely devoid or intelligence and Jnentally incapable of taking an interest m anything other than sporting pursuits. Such, remarks as these are not ■worthy of criticism, but no doubt no harm has beenjione, as I give the New Zealander credit for having sufficient common sense, to reason that such a, state of affairs could not po:jsibly exist. If such -were the case, instead of being at the cop of the ladder of commerdali.m, >y e would be clinging to the hofctom rung, personally, X have taieh a considerable interest in many sports, but never have Set them interfere with, my business or no doubt" I wohM have found myself in the ranks of the reemployed. Competition is so keea. nowadays, that we have to pat forth every effort to.retain the position we hold in the "commercial •world. I do net mean to say that as a nation we are perfect. No!, far from --at. Like every other country, we have our -ne The two great evils we have to combat are c_rin_ an _ gam. Mmg. These are the two potent factors That have caused more poverty than it Is possible to" conceive. The ga__Brtag craze is had ehbugh, bat Bothn^ ,to the terrible picture drfwn by m. i-elly.. One .-would, imagine from this writer _h_t you £ the face at every turn. Betting, other than on a racecourse; is ffiegai by Act of P-rij-awot, and the police are doing their utmost to bring the offenders to justice; This evil is practically confined to the poor of the -working men, with the resultam—impoverishment and misff 7 °V£ c iome ' "Generally speaking', tho middle classes, especially, in Scotland, do not indulge in betting.- Frohably a great many New Zealanders will »ot know that only one first-class race meeting t__es place in Scotland. That is at Ayr, annually, in August or September. Last Monday I took a walk up Queen-street about 9.30 a_n., and was surprised to see all sorts and conditions cf men congregated in. little groups eagerly discussing their favourites for the day's racing. It was not a case of a few, but everyone seemed on the same tact, devouring the contents of racing cards, as if their whole lives were at Etake. I went out to the Ellerslie .Races merely to see how a meeting in.this country iwas conducted. Although I -was somewhat prepared for it, I was, at. the same time, astounded at the amount of _'_. _rng that was transacted. The women .were as keen as the men, and, in fact, everyone seemed to be "laying on" his or her money —Colonials, Chinamen, and Maoris alike. I did not exactly catch the fever, -but--I- backed one horse and lost my money like most people. This ,was my first bet, and it is a somewhat significant fact that it was done in New Zealand. Gambling conipetifcions are not allowed in any Home paper, and many have teen stopped by the authorities in repent years. It must be a test of skill. Probably many of Mr. Kelly's remarks" may be excused,._a.s_.he. went to jthe haunts of his" yb_t_ra~d'-o_nd his (old companions gone the .way of all flesh. Without. pleasantr; company, I do rot care wlwi the scene.j_ may; be:. _ke,

but it does hot appeal to one _a the same sense 7 if he is alone.

' Pulr auld Scotland! - Mr. Kelly gives his native country a terrible slating, but, nevertheless, its magnificent scenery, which he admired in his youth, is still there! For anyone to decry, to such an extent, the lan_ or so many of the pioneers of this country, it is enough to make: Sir Walter Scott turn in his grave—the country in which so many illustrious- men were fitted for life's battles, and we look to the rising generation to--maintain the worthy, record of their forefathers, and I trust we will not look in vain.

I would fain place Mr. Kelly's article with my newspaper cuttings, but 1 refrain from doing so, as it would be apt to give my friends a wrong impression of Colonials.- I sail for London next month, arid I will go Home with pleasant recollections of your scenery, of the many people I have met, and the large number of friends I have made. I will always look back on my visit to this land of sunshine with of many happy days spent in the midst of the hospitable New Zealanders.

D: MeFARLANE.